Jargons That Rule The Call Center Industry

According to Wikipedia, the definition of Jargon is - 'Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event.' The use of jargons started with the technical backgrounds in science, especially when the terms and terminologies were too long and took a lot of time to explain. Precisely, the use of jargons can initiate a type of short-hand, to define any idea that is repeatedly discussed among the same community or groups. The jargons used in outsourcing call centers are completely different from the common day use and totally focused towards saving the time that is usually seen in the call center floors.

Here is a list of jargons that find usage up to 90% in the inbound and outbound call centers. These jargons may be a little complicated for the novice, but gradual practice will make it a part of the daily life. Know them now!

ACW - After Call Work- It is a period of time that is undertaken (for supplementary work for that last call) by an agent once the call is finished.

One and Done - The ability for the customer transaction that is completed by any agent in a single effort.

AHT (Average Handling Time) - The time taken by a calling agent in an outbound call center to deal with all the call aspects. It can also include talk time plus after call work.

CLI (Calling Line Identity)- This is a telephone technology that helps to display the number from which a customer is calling. A calling agent can easily identify the number with the integration of CTI software to cross check the record of the caller.

Automated Speech Recognition – In order to automate some or all aspects of the customer's call, it allows the telephonic caller directly to the contact center without any direct involvement.

Call Blending- It is an innovative means to amalgamate inbound and outbound calls for specific agents.

Queue - The power to prioritize and tackle callers during the absence of agents.

Invisible Queue – The type of call center queue where the caller have hardly any idea about the call progressing method.

Teleset – It is the terminology used for the particular telephone device used by a calling agent. In addition, the teleset has the access to other functions - like the ability to log on to a general telephone set.

Calling Line Identity (CLI or CLID) - Also known as Automatic Number Identification or ANI (in USA), it is usually seen when an outbound call is made and the receiver displays the ANI number(telephone number of the caller) before a call received .

Talk Time – The overall time undertaken by a call center agent from beginning to the end.

Wrap Time – Also termed as 'After Call Work', wrap time can be defined as the time taken to complete any transaction after a call is being made to a caller.

B2B (Business to Business)- An abbreviation for Business to Business and implies the business undertaken between two business organizations, without the direct involvement of the consumer.

B2C (Business to Consumer) – An antonym for B2B which specifically means the business dealing is purely among the main organization and its customers (general public).

Outsourcing – When the call center processes are shared with a third party organization to reduce the cost and increase efficiency, the entire phenomenon is called call center outsourcing.

IVR (Interactive Voice Response)- This is a recent call center technology of Non Voice Support that instructs the customers to dial the requisite extension to have a direct access to the service message or to the live agent.

These are some of the common jargons that are usually practiced in the floors of call centers process understanding.